Ava is 2 weeks Old!

We took Ava back to the Dr. for her 2 week appointment and the doc gave Ava a clean bil of health. Of course, there was the matter of her weight. She had not yet regained her birth weight of 8 lbs. 1 oz - she was weighting in instead at 7 lbs. 12 oz. They asked us to come back in a week's time to weigh her in again and make sure she was back to birth weight. I wasn't concerned about this since Jasmine was the same way and I figured it just takes my babies a while to fatten up!

Ava's 2 week stats -
Head - 13 and 3/4 - 25th percentile
Height - 19 1/4 - 10th percentile
Weight - 7 lbs. 12.9 oz. - 30th percentile

What Ava can do at 2 weeks -
She can lift her head for a few seconds
She can watch mommy talk
She is a big sleeper - about 16 hours a day
Eats like a champion
Can see up to 12 inches in front of her.

The Poodle PJs

Before Ava was born, Mary gave me a gift for Jasmine to open when Ava arrived. When the gift was finally opened, it revealed a matching pair of poodle pajamas for Ava and Jasmine. This was something I had been looking forward to doing - dressing my girls alike from time to time. Of course that becomes hard when there is a wide age and size difference. Jasmine is growing like such a weed that she is in size 5 clothing and she hasn't even turned 4 yet! And of course, Ava is still in newborn sized clothes. So, what a great find that Mary was able to find pjs in both of their sizes that actually matched.
Of course, with all this cuteness, the camera came out and a photo shoot ensued - Enjoy!

Eyes Wide Open!

Here are some pics of Ava around a week and a half when she decided to start waking up a bit more and showing us her baby blues. I wonder how long she will have her blue eyes before they change? Jasmine has green eyes like her daddy - wonder if Ava will have brown eyes like me or go green like her sister?

Saturday Fun

Cindy and Eleana came for a visit Ava's second weekend home since Kevin had to work and we always love being with any or all of the Zarcones. I wish I could write a huge detail about all the fun stuff we did but we really hung out in the living room most of the day and ate Chinese food when it was time for dinner. Cindy did bring the girls a special gift, matching bracelets to wear on Ava's blessing day and any other special time. They had charms on them that said lil sis and big sis. Too cute! These are the kinds of days I so thoroughly enjoy!

Ava is 1 week Old!

I couldn't believe how fast the first week went. I have found myself getting possessive of my baby as I know she will grow so fast and all these moments are fleeting. I suppose already having a beautiful daughter that is almost 4 years old, I am super sensitive to the time goes fast factor. And since now my time is split between 2 girls and other responsibilities I have, I suppose I get even more worried that I might miss a moment. I am sure it is mostly the hormones giving me my paranoia but we will got with it!
I did a little photo session with Ava in my room and her room and here are some of the cute pictures of her at 1 week old. She did great in front of the camera and I had fun capturing these newborn moments. Aside from eating, sleeping and changing diapers, Ava does not yet do anything super extraordinary to post here but we know that she will. She is super loved by her parents and is a very blessed little girl.I was able to capture a great picture for her birth announcement (which I am still trying to finish sending out!).

More Visitors and Sisters

Ava has been the talk of the town and she got more special visitors on Day 6 of her life. Kelleen finally had a chance to stop by and meet Ava which was nice because we had been waiting for her to be able to come by. It was a nice visit even if a bit short but we know we will spend many more happy times with her in years to come.Tricia - my childhood friend since I was 6 years old also came by and spent some good quality time with Ava and myself. We sat and chatted and started to catch up on life and things and had dinner together. It was such a nice evening and we can't wait to see Tricia again!Finally, I had to include a picture of the 2 sisters - Jasmine really loves to hold and kiss Ava and has been gentle with her for the most part. She is also learning to be a good big sister and is becoming a great helper as well!

Day 5 - More Visitors

We had a bunch of visitors on Day 5 of Ava's life and it was very exciting. First, Amber White stopped by with gifts for Ava and Jasmine which was super thoughtful of her. She held Ava on the porch as she had one of her kids in the car.
Next, Mary Ady came over and spent some time with us - it was fun to watch her hold Ava and marvel at her. She was super cute with her. Jasmine came home from school while Mary was there and opened her gift from Amber - it was a Tea Party game - right up Jasmine's alley.Jasmine got Daddy to play with her right away and Lorne won the first game, making Jasmine a bit upset. I thought it was funny that Lorne didn't realize he needed to let Jasmine win the first game so as not to upset her but Lorne is good at games and is hard to beat! I know this from experience!Chrissy Tabaka came as Mary was leaving and she brought us 2 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts! She also got to spend some quality time with Ava and with us chatting and having a nice visit. I love having friends that care and love me and my children. It is so true that when someone loves your child, it is the same as loving you!After Chrissy left, Linda Patterson (my friend and flute student) came by and spent some time getting to know Ava and spending time with Jasmine as well. We took some cute pictures of them together and Linda spent time doing things with Jasmine so that she wouldn't feel left out. It helps that Linda is also Jasmine's Sunbeam teacher at church!All in all, it was a great day with lots of fun visitors! I love days like this!

Ava's First Doctor Visit

At only 4 days old, Ava was scheduled for her first visit to the doctor. Jasmine was also suffering from a bad cough and so we scheduled a double appointment for them. The doctor was great with both girls and checked them quickly. Ava got a clean bill of health and the doctor said she was doing great.Jasmine however did not get a clean bill of health. It was discovered that she had an ear infection that probably stemmed from having allergies. She was prescribed a course of antibiotics and also Zyrtec for her allergies.After the appointment we went out to lunch with my parents to Ruby Tuesdays and then had a nice visit at home with the grandparents.

Day 2 at Home

Sunday we had a very relaxing day and some visits from family that we were really looking forward to. Fist, Natalia stopped by and brought empanadas! YUM! It was nice to spend some quality time with her and of course introduce her to Ava. Jasmine was also excited to see her Titi and wanted to be next to her as much as possible. I can't ask for a better "sister" in my life. I never had a sister so it is awesome to treat Natalia as my sister (the fact that we are cousins doesn't matter) we are sisters from different mothers! It was so important for me that she could come and meet Ava while she was still brand new!Later, we were graced with a visit from my Tio and Tia which I was so excited about because they had come to meet Jasmine when she was a few days old as well. They seemed super excited to meet and hold Ava and I got some cute pictures of them also. I love spending time with my extended family and find it so important for my children to know them because it is more people for them to love and for them to know they are loved by a large family group. We just wish the Australian family was closer so they could have them in their lives as well.

Going Home

Saturday morning we rallied together to get Ava ready to go home. I had convinced Lorne to stay overnight the second night so we could get ready earlier in the morning to go home and be home by lunchtime. Our belongings had multiplied in the 2 days we had been at the hospital and so we packed things up and changed Ava into her going home outfit and waited to be discharged.We put Ava into the car seat and she looked so tiny in it! Then it was time to put her into the car and drive home. The first half of the drive was smooth but when we got to the 95 South, it was gridlocked. Should have known since it was a Saturday! Lorne was a bit frustrated as he was anxious to get us home and have his little family all under one roof and pretty soon we inched our way to our exit.
When we got to the house we were greeted by some fabulous decor thanks to my mom! She had put a sign in the yard announcing our sweet Ava and balloons as well as a baby girl rattle on the door and more fun baby girl decorations in the house. We were blown away and even though Ava was asleep we know she appreciated it too!Later, we put Ava into the bassinet for the first time and it was sweet to see her in it as we had put Jasmine in it almost 4 years before. She quickly went to sleep and we hoped that she knew she was home and this is where she belonged!